To Kill A Dragon
by The Last Deathly Guardian
Summary: "If it is not a battle you seek, then what is it that you have come for, Mabel of the Pines?" it spoke, much more calmer than before. "Have you come to worship my greatness?" Mabel pressed her hands together a bit tighter. Her mouth was dry. "I've come to sacrifice myself to you." Fantasy AU.


**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Gravity Falls.

* * *

 **To Kill A Dragon**

She felt bare and much too exposed as she walked into the cave, but she refused to return back home, where it was safe.

Unlike here.

She heard the beast before she saw him; a towering monstrous figure of fifteen feet tall, with glistening golden scales and piercing neon, cat-like pupils that peered at her approach with the air of indifference. It reminded Mabel of the snatches of myths and tales she would hear being told by the firelight, by the pagans that lived in the Fallen Woods, as they danced around a circle of mauled looking stone statues that they worshiped as gods.

The gods the pagans worshiped were as nameless as they were horrifying look at, if those statues were to be taken to be an exact life-like replica of their actual forms. They were beings as taller than the trees and could touch the skies and cup the stars into their hands. They could transverse the whole world in a matter of strides and some of them had wings that span the wide berth of an ocean.

Truthfully, Mabel didn't believe in such fantasies but it was a nice to dream. A perfect world where everyone was protected by these altruistic guardians. Not here, where the gross moss under her feet reminded her of where she was, in the real world where miracles died before they were ever realized and the cruelty was the only language humans spoke.

Because Mabel had seen her twin brother popped like a grape between the dragon's teeth, watched as Dipper was ground to red gruel as the dragon chewed, so she approached the beast cautiously, not daring to stare too long and lowering her head in the presence of someone much more powerful.

The dragon gave her the customary greeting; it tipped its head back, breathing out a cloud of bluish fire and gave a mighty roar. The cave shivered as if it were alive and was quivering in fear while she barely managed to muster the courage to step closer.

As was the custom, it asked him in a voice filled with grinding bones, "WHO COMES TO FIGHT BILL CIPHER OF GRAVITY FALLS?"

"I am Mabel," she answered, "daughter of the Pines." The dragon's mouth widened into a smile that showed the sharpness of its teeth and the dark, narrowing throat behind them. "Sweet is the meat," it said, "of the daughter of the Pines." There was minute rumble, and then its smile widened further, as if savoring a cleverly spoken joke. It tilted it head and peered at her closely. "But you are quite young, not yet of age," it said. "But then it'll be a short fight."

When it laughed, its voice sounded like the tortured screams of men pierced by the teeth the size of milestones.

Indeed, she was average for her age, and still too young to help out with the adults around her village. She had no sword, no lance, no mace, no axe, bow, or staff, and there was no suit of armor small enough to fit her. Not that armor had done any good for Dipper, or any other fool the dragon had chewed into martyrdom.

But Mabel did have a knife, although it was a bit dull from playing games with it. It was tucked safely under the flap of her doublet, but there was no need to hide it, the dragon would only have laughed at it.

She clasped her hands together to stop them from shaking and smiled brightly as she drew breath and said, "I have not come here to fight, Oh Great Dragon."

The dragon scowled and a puff of flames flared from the sides of its mouth. For a moment the cave was illuminated with blue light, and then it was gone. "Why not?"

"No one can beat you," she said. And it was true. It was partly the reason why she was even allowed to come here; the number of men was dwindling too fast, and king thought that sacrificing the women would serve better for the the future of the kingdom - or of whatever that was left of it. "You are the most powerful thing in the world, why come challenge you when all have heard of your mighty strength."

Flattery came as second nature to her - it was well in her nature to compliment people, even if it was never really genuine - and it was easier to flatter something that was truly beautiful to look at, even though the glittering golden scales was just a distraction that hides a nasty, rotten core.

The dragon purred and its teeth ground together in mellow content. "The others were fools to fight you," she continued, in soft honeyed tones, her posture one that portrayed her deference to the dragon. "You should be worshiped and have your name engraved in the hearts and memories of men for centuries."

The dragon looked pleased with the idea.

"If it is not a battle you seek, then what is it that you have come for, Mabel of the Pines?" it spoke, much more calmer than before. "Have you come to worship my greatness?"

Mabel pressed her hands together a bit tighter. Her mouth was dry.

"I've come to sacrifice myself to you."

It was well-known that the dragon, Bill Cipher, was as vain as the king, and the idea of worshipers pleased it enormously. Other dragons were feared, as Bill himself had always been, but none were worshiped, and certainly none had worshipers so in awe of them that they volunteered to be eaten without a fight.

"All I ask for is a painless death," she said.

The dragon thought about it for a moment. It was an act of mercy, Bill thought, swishing his tail back and forth. It was small act, but an act of mercy nonetheless. He eyed the tiny form, the girl with a smile too bright for her face and brown hair that kept falling in between her eyes. This girl was insignificant, just like the many other humans that came before her. She will be forgotten, though Bill commended that she was brave (and incredibly dumb) to have come all the way to his cave to sacrifice herself to him.

"Very well," Bill Cipher said. "Because you are the first of my worshipers, I will swallow you whole."

Who said nobody rewarded stupidity - I meant, _bravery_.

"You promise?"

The dragon looked indignant. "Would a god lie to his followers?" Disregarding the fact that he had considered crushing her puny little body, Bill was no fool, and knew that if he broke his word to the girl, nobody else would come along offering to trade their life for a painless death.

"I suppose not, Great Dragon. I apologize for asking. I should have known you would keep your word." Mabel shuffled a little, looking downright mortified for having questioned him. She hung her head. "Would you still accept the sacrifice of this lowly worshiper, Great Dragon?"

"Bill Cipher," it said, the name itself sending tremors down her spine. "If I am to be worshiped, address me properly."

 _Nameless gods._

No names, no memories. The dragon reared its head, teeth flashing and nostrils flaring. His large claws dug deep into the cracked earth, greyish white smoke curling around his form as he swished his tail impatiently.

 _And to name him_...Mabel licked her lips nervously, and whispered, "Bill Cipher." The syllables twisted around her tongue like a coiled cobra, and suddenly everything felt too hot and humid, and terribly constricting.

She hated it.

"Say it again," the dragon rumbled, in much lower, throaty sounding voice, though it still sounded loud to her own sensitive ears."Do your prayers and say my name, Mabel of the Pines."

"Y-You're too generous to your followers, Great Dragon," she said. "And already saying your true name once...the privilege of saying your name should not be allowed by a lowly being such as I," the words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush, hastily stuttered put sentences fast constructing and deconstructing in her mind as she thought quickly about her next words. "But I am not one to be ungrateful for having had the chance to say it once. I am eternally grateful to you, Great Dragon, and hope you may find me at the very least sustaining."

"You are strange." The dragon, _Bill Cipher_ her inner voice sinfully whispered, took a moment - _too long_ , she lamented, _what_ _else was there to consider when you have me here so willing_ \- before carefully lowering himself down to the ground, underbelly completely flat. "But you are also interesting. Then so be it, Mabel of the Pines. Enter me and I will give you what you so desire." The jaws, those powerful jaws that had ground the bones of many, opened ominously, another yawning cavern that held new monsters of its own.

The shaking did not stop. _This is what I wanted._ Then, why did she feel so nervous? "Thank you," she bowed low, almost scrapping her knees against the rubble.

The dragon rolled out his tongue, as if serving to further prompt her to hurry up. Hurriedly, Mabel stepped on it, and it rolled up behind her, tumbling her into a neat little ball. Then, the dragon lifted its head and she gently slide down the slick throat.

Inside the dragon's stomach, in the stinking dark, Mabel of the Pines felt along the soft, wet walls for the long vulnerable veins that carried the blood from the heart, and slowly, with a knife dulled by childhood games, she began to kill the dragon the only way tyranny can be killed - from inside out.

* * *

Years later, Mabel will recall that time again; sitting amidst the foul-smelling carcass of thoroughly gutted dragon, knife slipping in her hands which were slicked with blood, sweat, tears and body fluids (blood and bodily fluids were from the dragon, not her), and through the never ending darkness of her nightmare, a kind knight that went by the name Soos helped her out of the mess, and she remembered letting go the rage that had welled up in her for so long and the desperation that had drove her to the brink of killing herself when she lied that her death was for a nobler cause.

It was so easy to talk about forgetting when all you can do is _remember._

Mabel was prepared to die that day, with the intent of bringing down the dragon with her. And yet she was still alive, still breathing, still living. And Dipper was still gone and revenge had not brought him back.

The King had offered her fame, glory and gold for her efforts - the Dragon Killer, they called her behind her back, both expressing gratefulness for her efforts and envy for her rewards. But Mabel did not want fame, she went in that cave wanting to _die_ and these people can't understand that frustrated her.

Mabel did not keep the gold, she gave her winnings to those who need it more - the poor villagers, her neighbors with too many children too handle, the sick and old, to help make the remaining lives they have left as comfortable as possible before they went too. To a place that she can't follow.

There were nights like these, and she remembered, but sometimes she remembered too much. Like tonight.

Mabel fingered the long, jagged dagger - it was too crudely made, the blade was a bit blunt and the workmanship on it was horrible, but Mabel had bought it anyways, from the too thin blacksmith with soot covered face and hands, but still strong enough to smile even for a person as lost and too jaded by living in a shell of a their former self like her.

She brought the sharp end of it to her throat, pressing the blade against the soft skin. She could feel coolness of the metal, and if she pressed harder, she might even feel the slimy warmth of her blood seeping out from an open wound. It was dull knife, she knew, it would take so much pain and effort for her to get the blood flowing.

She didn't want a painless death - thinking back on how she requested to be granted that when Dipper never had the chance too made her feel absolutely sick. "But I was tricking him, it wasn't the same!"

 _Prove it._

"I'll prove it." Mabel was desperate, desperate to get these voiceless voices to understand. She pressed the knife a harder. It hurt, it hurt, it _hurt._ "I'll prove it!"

 _Is this what Dipper wanted you to do with your life? Keep hovering between wanting to kill and not kill yourself?_

At that, Mabel lost any feeling she had left in her arm and the metal clanked loudly on the table. She didn't feel the tears, she could only feel that piece missing from her heart. "How would I know what Dipper wanted me to do!?" she screamed, loud and raw. "HOW COULD I WHEN HE CAN'T ANSWER ME! HOW COULD I WHEN HE'S _DEA-_ " She choked on her words.

Dead. Dead. _Dead._

And so, for the first time since Soos had found her at the cave, Mabel cried.

* * *

After she exhausted herself and fell asleep.

That night she dreamed of **Bill Cipher**.

* * *

It was a small price to kill a god. Even if it was Bill Cipher.

The dragon was as majestic as she remembered; sharp talons and gleaming scales and blue-bell fires and all. Mabel found herself perched near his snout, little wisps of smoke giving keeping her warm from the drafty cave. It was dark and she could barely see anything, but it was dream, and she thought of torches and they aligned themselves along the walls in cozy metal brackets, the fires blazing blue.

" _Did you miss me_?"

Mabel, who had forgotten where she was for a moment, was startled when the dragon shifted, so that he could comfortable see her with his eye. She noticed his other eye was closed, and barely visible scar cutting across the eyelid and travelling further down the left side of his face until she could see it no longer.

"Define 'miss'." Plagued with memories and the need to remember his name - Mabel could have down better without seeing him again. "Because I'm afraid you and I have slightly different meanings for it."

A loud rumble and the dragon was laughing, lips curled into a semblance of a smirk. " _Admit it, you missed me."_ The teasing tone he had adopted was so out of place with his deep voice that Mabel could not help the small giggle that slipped out. " _See, you're enjoying my company already. Be grateful that you are accepted in the company of a god."_

The humor she felt left her completely. And she was empty again. "It was trick you know, about sacrificing myself to worship you." She couldn't look the dragon in the eye so she started at her hands. "I was so _angry_ and _hurt_ and _desperate_ \- you ate my twin brother, Dipper, not long before I came to your cave. But why am I telling you about this?" Mabel let out a self-depreciating laugh. "I bet you don't even remember him. You're not even real," she shook her head. "There are no such things as gods, only the pagans worship them and the ones they have are real ugly."

" _Dipper of the Pines."_ The dragon said the words slowly, letting them hang heavy in the air. Mabel looked at him. "Do you-"

He did a gesture with his wings that might have been a normal shrug on a human. _"Despite what you say, young Pines, I do remember him. Scrawny little boy with a too large mind for his body. He was bright, but not bright enough for he tried to challenge me to a fight."_ The dragon snorted, and a small blue flame came from the sides of his mouth. A thoughtful look crossed his face. _"If I recall correctly, he was attempting to save someone that day - you were day weren't you?_ "

"I-I was...I...I went there to get him to come home." Mabel drew her knees closer her body. "I didn't think things through, and I thought I could just wing it, I could be some hero that brings her brother back alive and kill the dragon too." She exhaled slowly. "You never even hesitated when Dipper took out his sword. You just..." She closed her eyes, not wanting to relieve the memory.

The dragon was silent for a moment.

And then, it spoke.

" _Do you hate me?"_

The answer _yes!_ sat at the tip of her tongue but Mabel swallowed it down instead. Hate controlled her life for far too long and maybe...maybe after five years of hating and hurting and remembering, maybe it was time to let go. Really let go, of it all. "I am...very tired," she admitted. "Tired of hating, tired of remembering, tired of just...everything, I guess." She brushed her cheek with the back of her hand. She was not surprised to see it wet. "I'm not making that much sense, am I?"

 _"_ _"Would you like to make a deal?_ _"_

Mabel paused. What did he- "What are you offering?"

" _You were not wrong to worship me, I might even go as far as say 'thank you' for pulling that stunt back then."_ The dragon stretched his wings wide; a large shadow hovered over her. " _But the bottom line is, I can give you what you want."_

She narrowed her eyes. Nothing in the world was ever given freely, and she was right to be suspicious. _"_ For what in exchange?"

Mabel was sure that it was a smile this time. " _Say my name again_."

"That's it?"

 _"It's a small price to pay for inner peace - take it or leave it, I'm feeling particularly generous today."_

"But this is a dream. You're not real," she pointed out. "Um, you're not, are you?"

" _Not too sure about it myself, Pines, but it can't hurt to try?"_ The dragon extended one of his claws. _"What do you have to lose?"_

Nothing much.

Her much smaller hand closed around the claw and gave it a firm shake. Blue fire erupted between them but it didn't burn - no, it tickled a little and was warmth. It was sort of comforting.

She looked up at him. "Now what?"

" _Say my name."_

Five years, six months and seven days...The last time she had said his name was before she killed the dragon. And the same dragon was giving her the chance to find peace within herself, even if it was a dream.

Something should be off about the whole situation but Mabel pushed the thought away.

She really has nothing left to lose.

And so, for the second time in five years, she said his name aloud.

" **Bill Cipher**."

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 **Like. Comment. Re-read.**

 **A/N:** The ending is open to interpretation. Mabel dies. Bill brings back Dipper. It's an open ending, so it's up to you how this sad tale ends.


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